Ankara satisfied with Manbij roadmap implementation with US

Ankara does not see any problem in the implementation of its joint roadmap with the United States on the withdrawal of Kurdish militias from the city of Manbij in northern Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Friday.

"We have no problem with the roadmap. We are maintaining dialogue, the plan is being implemented without any protraction. Its implementation will complete in several months. We will make the decision on what is going to be done [in the area] next together with the United States," Çavuşoğlu said in an interview with the Anadolu news agency.

Çavuşoğlu and US State Secretary Mike Pompeo agreed on the plan envisaging the withdrawal of the Kurdish YPG group, allied to Washington, from Manbij, in June.

After the roadmap implementation is finished, asylum seekers would return to Manbij from Turkey, the foreign minister said.

"The YPG will withdraw from the area, the United States will seize their arms, and the Manbij problem will be resolved," he continued.

On June 18, Turkish and US forces began their patrols in Manbij as part of the implementation of their plan to "normalize" the situation in the city. Earlier on Friday, they completed the 10th round of patrols in the area, according to Anadolu.

Damascus has been opposing the operation of Turkish and US forces on its territory calling it a violation of the Syrian sovereignty.